Wednesday, July 4, 2018

The Institutions Americans Trust Most And Least

In this era of "fake news", trust is always being called into question, whether it's the content in the president's Twitter feed or the creepy notion that your Amazon Echo is listening in on your private conservations with sinister intentions. Even though "In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States, distrust is rampant in 21st century America. When it comes to the nation's institutions which are bedrocks of the country, however, trust levels are remaining consistent.

Gallup recently polled U.S. adults about their confidence levels in 15 different societal institutions, finding only three had a majority-level of trust. Average confidence across the institutions has still remained consisent over the past three decades and all of them garner at least some trust. In 2018, the military remains the most trusted institution with 74 percent of Americans having some or quite a lot of confidence in it.

It comes as little surprise that small business is widely trusted given its importance to the community and it comes second with 67 percent. Even though the police has attracted criticism due to heavy-handed arrests and a spate of controversial shootings, it is the only other institution with majority trust at 54 percent. When it comes to the church and organized religion, trust levels stand at 38 percent while the presidency is close behind with 37 percent. Television news and Congress come last with just 20 and 11 percent trust among the public respectively.